Noticias

‘Perfection’ Sets Local Launch

“Lost in Perfection,” the second film by journalist-turned-filmmaker Sung Hsin-yin (“On Happiness Road”), has set Oct. 27 as the date of its commercial release in Sung’s native Taiwan. Ahead of the Taiwan release, the film is expected to have its world premiere at a major festival.

The film is a psychological thriller about a woman who probes a romance scam that appears to involve her father and may involve a series of murders. The cast is headed by Shao Yu-Wei (“More than Blue: The Series”), Lin Mei-Hsiu (“Zone Pro Site”) and Rhydian Vaughan (“Monga”) along with Mark Lee (“Looking for You”) playing the father and Tseng Shao-Tsung (“More than Blue: The Series”) as the protagonist’s fiancé. The film is presented by Screenworks Asia, My Story Entertainment, Taiwan Television Enterprise, Tomorrow Together Capital and Happinessroad Productions. Catchplay is handling the Taiwan release and Screenworks Asia the overseas sales.

by Nathaniel R

Our final Oscar predictions continue with Animated Feature. Though we've learned never to wholly trust consensus in this race (that shocking omission of The Lego Movie!) we're assuming that Spider-Verse, Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs and Ralph Breaks the Internet will be nominated. One spot is free. 

In Ye Olden Times we'd assume that that would be it for the mainstream titles and we'd also get Early Man (animators love Aardman films) or Japan's Mirai in there. But under the new rules we have to assume that The Grinch is a strong possibility since it's a massive hit (#7 of the whole year). But will anyone really put it at #1 on their ballots with Incredibles 2 (even more successful and more beloved) right there for the taking? Ruben Brandt Collector is memorable and stands out from the foreign pack in aesthetics but a qualifying release only was a...

Each weekend, Tim has been taking a look at one of the films submitted for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Taiwan's animation industry does not have a particularly strong reputation, to put it gently. For many years, the country's animation studios have largely served as inexpensive places to farm out work from other, more well-heeled companies, or to produce short films and clips that are largely ephemeral and quickly forgotten. So perhaps the first impressive thing about On Happiness Road is that it exists at all: a Taiwanese-produced feature-length animated film, about Taiwanese history and the cultural position of Taiwan in the wide world. That it is largely good is even more impressive.

The film is the brainchild of writer-director Sung Hsin-Yin, making her first feature after a handful of short films. It tells the life story of Chi (voiced by Kwei Lun-Mi) a thirtysomething expatriate who returns from America to Taipei,...

Growing up in Taiwan, Hsin Yin Sung always dreamed of pursuing a medical career in America. But after landing a journalism job and getting an education in film, the Taiwanese director now has her own stake in the 2019 Oscars race.

A candidate for Best Animated Feature, “On Happiness Road” tells the story of Lin Shu-Chi, or “Chi,” as she goes back home to Taiwan following her grandmother’s death. With a pending divorce and familial pressures, Chi recounts her childhood in the hopes of answering the ever-lingering question: What is happiness?

On Wednesday night, Sung joined TheWrap’s Brian Welk for a Q&A after a screening of her film, where she discussed her inspiration, life in America and happiness.

Also Read: The Scene at TheWrap's Oscars Best Original Song Contenders Panel (Photos)

“Actually, I always wanted to be a storyteller, so when I was little I used to write...

Zhang Yimou’s Shadow walked away with the most number of awards, including best director.

The late Hu Bo’s directorial debut An Elephant Sitting Still was named best film at the 55th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, while Zhang Yimou’s Shadow walked away with the most number of awards, including best director.

Two further mainland Chinese films – Dying To Survive and Long Day’s Journey Into Night – each nabbed three wins. Mainland films most noticeably dominated the stage taking most of the awards at the ceremony held on Saturday (Nov 18) at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” and Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” are two of the 25 movies that have been officially submitted this year for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the official submissions list, which includes titles from regulars of the category, such as Walt Disney Animation Studios (“Wreck-It Ralph 2”), GKids (“Mirai”), and Illumination Entertainment (“The Grinch”).

The Oscar for best animated feature includes five nominees. Both “Isle of Dogs” and “Incredibles 2” are frontrunners for a nomination at this point, with the Pixar superhero adventure being a likely candidate for a win thanks to its critical acclaim and its more than $1 billion at the global box office. “The Incredibles” won the category in 2004, when the award was in its fourth year. Recent winners of the Oscar include “Coco,” “Zootopia,” “Inside Out,” and “Big Hero 6.”

Nominations for the 91st Academy...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that 25 films have been submitted into the Oscars Animated Feature race, meaning there will be a full slate of five nominees in the category this year. Highlights among the group include “Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs” and “Sherlock Gnomes.”

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process. Sixteen or more films must qualify for the maximum of five nominees to be voted, meaning that this year the submitted films have crossed that threshold.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture.

Also Read: 'Roma,' 'Cold War' Lead Academy's List of 87 Films in the...

On Wednesday (October 24), the academy announced that 25 films qualified for consideration in this year’s Oscar race for Best Animated Feature. That is one shy of last year and two off the record number of entries in 2017, which in turn had eclipsed the 2014 record of 20 features. There could be up to five nominees depending on how they score with the screening committee. All of the major players in the animation field have at least one film in the running. (See the full list at the bottom of this post.)

Will Disney continue its Oscar winning streak and claim Best Animated Feature for the seventh year running? The mouse house has two films in the competition this year: “Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” The studio’s most recent Oscar winners are “Brave” (2012), “Frozen” (2013), “Big Hero 6” (2014), “Inside Out” (2015), “Zootopia” (2016) and “Coco” (2017).

This marks the second year that the entire...

Oscar organizer the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday revealed a list of 25 films that have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 91st Oscars. The Academy said several of the films on the list have not yet made their required Los Angeles qualifying run.

Here’s the full list:

“Ana y Bruno”

“Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch”

“Early Man”

“Fireworks”

“Have a Nice Day”

“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”

“Incredibles 2”

“Isle of Dogs”

“The Laws of the Universe – Part I”

“Liz and the Blue Bird”

“Lu over the Wall”

“Mfkz”

“Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms”

“Mirai”

“The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl”

“On Happiness Road”

“Ralph Breaks the Internet”

“Ruben Brandt, Collector”

“Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero”

“Sherlock Gnomes”

“Smallfoot”

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

“Tall Tales”

“Teen Titans Go! To the Movies”

“Tito and the Birds”

According to Academy rules,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 25 animated features submitted for consideration in this year’s Oscar race. Among the entries is Pixar’s box office hit “Incredibles 2,” Wes Anderson’s stop-motion “Isle of Dogs” and Sony’s upcoming “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

Also in play are a number of films from indie distributor Gkids, which has a strong record of landing nominations alongside the major Hollywood distributors. Among them are “Fireworks,” “Lu Over the Wall,” “Mfkz,” “Mirai of the Future” and “The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl.”

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process. Sixteen or more films must qualify for the maximum of five nominees to be voted.

Triawan Munaf, chairman of the Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy (Bekraf) was on hand on Monday for the opening of the Bali International Film Festival (Balinale). His presence was intended as a sign that Indonesia, Asia’s sleeping giant as a film player, is rousing itself.

It was also an endorsement of the indie festival which, in its 12th year, is adding industry functions and seeking relevance far away from capital city, Jakarta.

Hosted in two Cinemaxx multiplexes in Denpasar and Kuta, the festival aims to reach different strands of Bali’s population, natives, long-term resident expatriates, and passing tourists.

A showcase of films by Roland Joffe is arguably the highlight of the event. The British director was a key figure at the BalinaleX industry conference on Sunday and is on hand through the week to present his multi-Oscar winning “The Killing Fields,” and Palme d’Or winner “The Mission.

Father To Son and The Bold, The Corrupt And The Beautiful were also big winners at awards held during Taipei Film Festival.

Sung Hsin-yin’s animated feature On Happiness Road won the $33,000 (Nt$1m) Grand Prize at this year’s Taipei Film Awards, while Dear Ex was the biggest winner overall with four prizes.

On Happiness Road, the story of a young woman reminiscing about her childhood after returning to Taiwan from the Us, also picked up the audience award and shared the Best Animation prize with Pan Sz-yu’s musical animation Neon.

Dear Ex (pictured), about a woman feuding...

On a truck packed with furniture, a mother is telling her daughter that their new home is on “Happiness Road”. A little girl, with her eyes wide-opened, asks: “what is happiness?” Hearing this question, the father is excited that he gets a precocious daughter: “she will become a philosopher some day!” The down-to-earth mother gives a straightforward and practical answer instead: “happiness is when you have enough to eat and a roof above you.” This is how Taiwanese director Sung Hsin-Yin opens her film “On Happiness Road”, a recent animation wonder from the island.

“On Happiness Road” is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival

The little girl is our protagonist Chi (Lun-Mei Kwei). She was born on the day when the dictator Chiang Kai-Shek died and grew up during the period when the Taiwanese people finally took down the authoritarian government and established democracy. The story kicks...